Rare, undercover footage from a principals’ retreat in Omaha last month… Mr. Teachbad
Archive for the ‘Administrative Idiocy’ Category
First, my school. Last week we had an all-day PD on Friday. I could probably just stop here and let you make up your own jokes, but I believe in working harder than that. Questions I know you have: 1) Were there new acronyms? 2) Was there a PowerPoint? 3) Was the PowerPoint difficult to read both on screen and in the handouts? 4) Were teachers periodically asked to reflect on certain points and then share them with a partner at the table? 5) Did the presenter assure us that she had been to an “all-day” Read more [...]
“These people drop every ball they pick up.” –A Beloved Former Colleague, speaking about our administration How many ideas do you think there are for improving the academic achievement of low-income, minority students? Nevermind…It’s too many. Let’s make it smaller. How many ideas do you think there are for doing vocabulary work before a difficult reading? (Then multiply these ideas by a differentiation factor.) How many ideas are there about the best student data to track and how to track Read more [...]
Sometimes I can’t quite put my finger on it…why my school is such a crappy place to work. But most of the time it’s easy. Here is a relatively subtle example from just today. Every Monday morning we get the [Your School Name Here] Bulletin in our boxes and in email. It’s very small. One sheet of paper printed on front and back in black and white. I’m looking at it right now. Most of it is probably white space. Then there is a three-inch header, a couple of pictures, a couple of calendar sidebars, Read more [...]
FAKE EDUCATION NEWS Louisville, KY Just off the grounds of Fairdale High School in Louisville, KY a makeshift banner has been hung in honor of 11th grade English teacher Jason Cooley. The banner reads simply: “Thank You”. Flowers are strewn about, below and around the banner. An enormous heart has been constructed out of what appears to be PowerPoint handouts. A small group of teachers sits to one side in a circle with candles alight. They are singing. Mr. Cooley, 29, has been arrested and charged Read more [...]
Here is what bugs me about education reform. It is arrogant, ahistorical, and willfully dishonest. Arrogant: Bill Gates, Michelle Rhee, and any number of millionaires, billionaires, short-time former-teacher-reformers and really just about anybody at all now feels free to opine about what is wrong with American education and how to fix it. (Surprise! Turns out the problem is teachers in districts where hardly anybody knows who their dad is. Just by chance.) The arrogance of the movement is that Read more [...]
FAKE EDUCATION NEWS –Kansas City, KS In a bold move sure to spark debate in political and education circles, Karen Herbst, principal of J.C. Harmon High School in Kansas City, KS, is making a most unusual request. Principal Herbst has asked the Kansas State Commissioner of Education, Dr. Diane DeBacker, to replace the entire student body at J.C. Harmon High School with students from another high school where test scores are higher. In a letter to the Commissioner, Principal Herbst writes: Standardized Read more [...]
It was a Tuesday just like any other. It wasn’t quite Wednesday, but at least it wasn’t Monday anymore. I walk into the 8:00am small learning team community cluster group meeting and take my seat. I don’t remember today specifically, but I probably sigh heavily as I sit down. The meeting has already started. Someone passes me the sign-in sheet. I sign in. Today we are talking about data. Everyone reports out how many A, B, C, D and Fs they gave in the first quarter. It turns out that a huge Read more [...]
The care and feeding of rubrics. For you… With love from, Mr. Teachbad And remeber…Mr. Teachbad is now on Facebook. Want to be friends?
I was so inspired by the video somebody sent me last week that I had to try it myself. It’s official. Mr. Teachbad now has his own YouTube channel. Learn. Enjoy. Go forth and teach. Mr. Teachbad
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